While governments and organizations work to encourage sustainability on a
broad scale, a few big thinkers are taking matters into their own
hands. They’re proving that sometimes, innovation blooms best at the individual level.
Consider the earthship. This building concept has been around for decades, yet most people have never seen one in person. First conceived by architect Michael Reynolds in the 1970s, earthships are highly sustainable residences made of recycled materials.
Perched high on a forested hill in Philo, Ohio, Blue Rock Station was the first American earthship east of the Mississippi River. Construction began in 1996, and hasn’t stopped since; on any given day, new privies, sheds and gardens are being built at different locations around the property. Owners Annie and Jay Warmke constructed their home out of tires, bottles, cans, recycled lumber, adobe mud plaster, and whatever else they could find. Their inverted roof collects rainwater. Southern-facing windows keep the temperature stable. Outside there’s a greenhouse made of soda bottles, a shower that uses solar power for hot water, and a composting toilet with a gorgeous view of the wooded valley below.
“Blue Rock Station is basically a working farm that incorporates all aspects of sustainability. We incorporate a lot of things that nature incorporates through bio-mimicry,” said Annie Warmke.
On their working farm, everything has a purpose. Goats produce milk, llamas produce fur, and every living thing produces waste that enriches the soil for crops. Volunteers come from around the world to work on eco-projects for weeks or months at a time.
The earthship even sustains itself economically by attracting curious visitors who pay for tours, books, and workshops. The Warmkes never intended to create a tourist destination; people simply showed up. Today, they come by the busload. “Over 17,000 people have visited in our living room since 2005,” said Warmke.
Her goal is to educate others about sustainability; it’s about making plans, not sacrifices. “We try to encourage people to retrofit and reuse existing buildings,” she explained. “Honestly, the concepts that go into retrofitting can work on just about any building, whether it’s creating a vegetative roof or thinking about how to incorporate water collection or composting. There’s a lot to it. But the bottom line is to think about consumption, and whether you’re really creating a plan for your life instead of just going along and buying things.”
The Warmkes’ vision and dedication have made their green experiment a resounding success. “I feel like the life I have today is something I’ve worked for all my life,” Annie said. “And every day for me is the most amazing and joyful gift.”
www.bluerockstation.com
We recommend:
Taking the old adage that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure to an entirely new level. A
First 50 Megawatts of Large Solar Power Plant in Baja California, Mexico Enabled By Cross-Border Col
From Private Utility to Public Conservation California Center for Sustainable Energy, a nonprofit
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
